Missing
by divcon
Summary: What would Jack do to get Ianto back? Can the Doctor help his old friend? Can Torchwood survive? Contains spoilers for Season 2 of Torchwood and Season 3 of Dr Who. * I have changed the missing period at the beginning of the story, sorry for the confusion
1. Chapter 1

MISSING

**MISSING**

**Chapter One**

All Jack could see was Ianto walking into the mist, heading towards danger. Jack tried to run after him but he couldn't move his feet. He shouted out to him but not a sound passed his lips. He tried again.

"Ianto, no. Don't leave me. It's dangerous over there, come back to me. I can't lose you."

Jack heard those words but instead of a shout all he heard was a whisper. Suddenly he felt someone walk up to him. Jerking around, he could see no-one. Realising that he'd taken his eyes of Ianto, Jack spun back around. He searched the mist frantically trying to see his lover, his soul but he was gone.

"NO!"

"Whoa, settle down Captain. You were dreaming."

"Doctor?"

"Yes Jack, it's me. Although, I think you were hoping for someone else. Who's Ianto then?"

"Just one of my team."

Jack surveyed the room and realized that he'd fallen asleep on the couch in his office again. He hadn't left the Hub in a week, not since Ianto had disappeared. He hadn't had much sleep during that time either. But he didn't know why he was seeing the

Doctor. Maybe it was still a dream.

"It's me Jack. I'm real and I'm here."

"You hate Torchwood, you would never come here."

"I may dislike Torchwood, but you, I kinda like. I heard that you had some problems and could use my kind of help."

"Who? How?" Jack asked confused. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at the Doctor.

"Who, well Martha of course. How, well that was her as too."

Reaching into his pocket, the Doctor retrieved the mobile phone that Martha had tossed at him when she had decided to stay on Earth a year and a half ago. Looking at Jack, the Doctor saw his confusion and explained.

"After the year that wasn't, Martha stayed with her family, as you know. Well, she made sure that she could reach me, anytime, anywhere. So she called me and said that you needed my help and here I am."

"Just like that? I thought I was, how did you put it? Oh yeah, I was a fixed point in time, just plain wrong, remember?"

"Jack, stop. You know that we sorted that out. I'm here to help you. What's happened?"

"What, didn't Martha tell you how it's my fault that half my team was killed and now……….."

"Jack, stop it now."

But the Doctor reaslised that Jack was no longer willing to listen to him. Jack just looked up and glared so the Doctor sat down opposite him and waited. While he waited, he looked around the office. There wasn't anything personal in the room. Nothing to show who Jack was, who he really was. He supposed that having reminders of his past could bring pain as well as joy. If anyone could understand why Jack kept certain things locked away it was the Doctor. Every time a companion moved on or was taken from him, he inevitably would find some of their things scattered throughout the TARDIS. He'd set aside a room to put these items into. It pained him greatly every time he had to enter that room. However knowing that he would be seeing Martha he had retrieved a small bag from that very room that she had left on board.

However, there was one item that he hadn't place in there. Rose's denim jacket, it was hanging over the back of the chair in his bedroom. It was the last thing he saw at night and the first thing he saw in the morning. He had put the rest of her things away but he hadn't been able to place the jacket in there as well.

Martha stood outside the office, looking in on her two friends. They weren't talking and they had identical looks on their faces. She knew who they were thinking of. They were both immersed in their love and guilt. Each having to face the fact that they may never see their true loves again. Martha had long ago come to the conclusion that the Doctor would love Rose for the rest of his life and therefore she had moved on.

Martha turned and smiled at Gwen as she walked up to join her at the window. They stood side by side watching the two men inside the office. Lost in their own worlds they didn't acknowledge the women.

"What are they doing?"

"At the moment, nothing. The Doctor will just wait until Jack is ready or at least until he thinks that Jack is ready to talk."

"Martha, it's already been a week. That's why we called your friend. What is his name anyway?"

"I don't know his real name, never have. To us, he's the Doctor."

"Hang on, Doctor? Is this the man that Jack was with when he went missing 18 months ago?'

Nodding, Martha smiled once more at Gwen and turned back to look at the men. She knew she'd done the right thing. They'd done all that they could. They needed the Doctor and his TARDIS. They had to track down Gray before he followed through on his threat and killed Ianto.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Jack looked up and realized that the Doctor was sitting patiently, waiting for him to talk but Jack didn't know if he could. It was so painful. Why Ianto? Why didn't Gray just take him again? Jack knew why, Gray wanted to hurt him and he knew that taking Ianto would destroy him. Slowly he started to talk.

_Jack couldn't believe that Gray had managed to escape and that he had taken Ianto as well. It had seemed such a small thing. A glitch in the computer software, but somehow Gray's cryo-chamber settings had been reversed. Jack hadn't realized this when he had sent Ianto down to check the cold storage. The computer glitch had wreaked havoc with the communications as well so Jack didn't worry straight away when he didn't hear form Ianto but after a while he had started to get a little concerned. Making his way down to the storage area he reminisced about the great night that they'd just had. He had finally confessed his feeling to Ianto. _

_Smiling, Jack turned the last corner and came to a sudden stop. Ianto wasn't there. Although one of the drawer doors was open. Instinctively he knew before he'd even reach it whose it was. Taking the last few steps, Jack reached the open door and looked down. Gray was gone and it looked like he had taken Ianto._

_Racing back up the stairs, Jack felt real fear. He couldn't lose Ianto, especially so soon after losing Owen and Toshiko. It had been so hard to continue but they had managed to struggle through. Martha had turned up a week after the whole horrible situation had happened and informed him that she had been transferred to his team. Slowly Jack could see a light at the end of the miserable tunnel. They had yet to find a computer tech, hence the glitch that had gone undetected._

_Gwen looked up when he entered the room. One look at his face and she knew something had happened. Jack looked scared and that in itself scared the shit out of her. She'd never seen Jack look this way. He was running as he passed her, heading for the nearest computer. As soon as he reached one he started typing on the keyboard but nothing worked. Growing more frustrated, he ripped the keyboard off its stand and threw it against the wall. He then let out a guttural roar. Gwen stood there staring at him. As she stepped towards him he lifted his head and looked at her. There was so much pain in his eyes that Gwen felt her heart break for him._

"_Jack, what is it? What the hell is going on?"_

"_Ianto, he's gone……"_

_Gwen dropped to her knees, not really sure what Jack meant but knowing he needed to be comforted. She wrapped her arms around him and murmured gently in his ear. Looking up she saw that Martha had entered the room._

"_Martha, can you grab a rift reader and see if there's been any activity recently."_

_Nodding, Martha made her way over to the table on the far side of the room. When she reached the table she grabbed one of the machines and after pushing the relevant buttons, began to read the data that was appearing on the screen. She could clearly see that there had been a huge surge of rift activity only 20 minutes ago. Glancing up at Gwen, she gave a slight nod. She saw Gwen take a deep breath and close her eyes briefly before speaking to Jack._

"_Jack, what happened? Where is Ianto?"_

_For a long time neither woman thought that he had heard her. The he spoke, very softly._

"_Ianto is gone and so is Gray."_

"_How?" they asked in unison._

"_I'm not sure but I'm thinking it had something to do with the computer glitch earlier. I sent Ianto down to check out everything. Because of the comms problem I didn't worry too much when I didn't hear from him straight away. By the time I realized I hadn't heard from him and had made the trip downstairs myself, both he and Gray were gone."_

"_Jack, there was a surge in rift activity about half an hour ago." _

"Oh God, it's my fault. It's all my fault."

Jack looked up at the Doctor. He went on to explain that after everything that had happened that day, he hadn't removed Gray's Time Vortex manipulator. That was how he had been able to leave and take Ianto with him,

"Jack, you have got to stop blaming yourself. These things happen. From what I know, it was a hell of a day. You lost two good friends that day as well as your brother. Give yourself a break."

Glancing over his shoulder, they Doctor saw Martha and Gwen standing just outside the room. He grinned at Martha before turning back to Jack.

"How about we tell the ladies to come in and we can work out what has happened, what's been done and what still needs to be done."

Jack looked up at this comment and glanced over the Doctor's shoulder. Smiling for the first time in weeks, he motioned for the women to come in and join them. They quickly opened the door and walked into the room. Taking a seat either side of Jack, they each took hold of one of his hand. They smiled at Jack and then turned to face the Doctor.

"Right, tell me what happened next."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Ianto struggled against the rope that bound his hands. He'd been left alone in the cave for at least two days. He was starting to get hungry. He knew that Gray would be back soon, he had to get free. Gray would only keep him alive for so long.

When they had arrived here, wherever here was, Gray had bundled him into the cave before he could get any chance to have a good look around and get his bearings. Sitting in a darkened cave didn't allow Ianto to gauge how many days had passed. However, if Gray left him for two days each time he left, he could assume that he'd been in this cave for just on a week.

Gray always returned, if only to gloat. He took great pleasure in informing Ianto that not only did his brother not know where his employee was but that he never would find them. The first time that Ianto had heard Gray call him Jack's employee and not his lover, he had felt a small amount of relief. Ianto needed to be careful not to give Gray any clue about the relationship he had with his brother. Gray's hatred was so deep that he would kill Ianto instantly. He held close to his heart their last night together.

_They had just locked up the latest alien that had been caught prowling the streets of Cardiff. Jack took Ianto's hand and pulled him in for a kiss. Soft and gentle, Ianto sighed when it was over. Leaning his forehead against Ianto's, Jack asked him out for dinner._

"_Sure, we can grab something on the way home."_

"_No, I mean I want to take you out to dinner. I think it's about time, don't you?"_

_Ianto was a little shocked. Yes, Martha, Tom, Gwen and Rhys knew of their relationship but so far they had been keeping it very quiet. This was a big step for both of them. Jack was saying that if he didn't want to go out, he understood completely. _

"_I'd love to go out with you Jack Harkness. When and where?"_

"_There's a lovely little restaurant just outside the entrance of the Tourist office. We could meet there at 8 o'clock. Is that alright?"_

"_OK, that'd be fine. I'll see you there then."_

_Ianto smiled as he walked away. He was looking forward to tonight. Glancing at his watch he saw that the time was already 7 o'clock. He had to go home and shower and be back here for 8. Rushing out of the Hub, he headed for his car. As he drove away he waved to Gwen and Martha as they were heading into the coffee shop on the corner. He knew that they were working on Martha's wedding plans. _

_An hour later, Ianto walked up to Jack as he stood outside the restaurant. When he reached him, Jack took Ianto's hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He then tucked Ianto's hand into the crook of him arm and led him inside. He had pre-arranged a table right at the front of the restaurant so they could overlook Cardiff Bay. They enjoyed their meal, talking about so many different things. Jack was talking about things that Ianto had never heard him talk about. He sat there quietly, listening intently to the man who had healed his heart and completed his life. What Jack was saying did surprise Ianto. His age for one thing, he was at least 150 years old. That was a bit of an age gap. Jack was open about the loves he had had throughout his long life. The joy and sadness that he had endured as one lover after another had passed away yet he had to go on. It explained why Jack had closed himself off for so long._

_When they had finished their meal, they made their way back to Ianto's place. After the whole Gray incident Jack had begun spending more of his time with Ianto and had left some of his stuff there. Ianto sat on the couch while Jack made the coffee. It had been funny the first time that they had come here together. Jack had said that from now on he would make the coffee whenever they were here, however it had then taken him half an hour to figure out how to use the coffee machine. He now had it down to a speedy 10 minutes. Sitting down, watching Jack made him smile and it filled his heart with so much love. He had never thought he would feel this way again after Lisa, let alone for a man, but he did. He loved this man with his whole being. Jack looked like he belonged here, with him._

_With the coffee made, Jack walked over to Ianto and handed him his cup. Leaning down, he gave him a quick kiss before sitting down next to him. _

"_I love you."_

_He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that but now that it had been said, he was happy. He could clearly see that he had surprised him. Jack had explained, right at the beginning of their relationship, why this couldn't be anything more than two people enjoying each others company. However, Ianto hadn't been able to stop the way he was feeling and he was sure that Jack felt the same way. Before Jack could speak Ianto held up his hand, delaying whatever he would say._

"_I know you've explained your reasons Jack, but you can't live the rest of your life alone. You've told me of your other lovers and I would be honored to be included on that list. To share my life with you would bring me such joy."_

"_Ianto, I…………"_

"_Jack, you don't have to say anything but I had to let you know. I love you and I always will."_

_Taking his hands in his, he looked up at Jack and was surprised to see tears in his eyes. However, behind the tears he could see the love shining through. He just had to wait for Jack to be ready to acknowledge it. Taking his face in his hands, Ianto told Jack that he would wait for him, never leave him and would never stop loving him. He then kissed him, tenderly, sweetly, lovingly. The kiss seemed to last a lifetime, neither man wanting it to end. When it finally did, Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto and placed a kiss on the top of his head. He then whispered gently._

"_Oh Ianto, I tried to stop it but I finally realized that it was not possible. I love you too. You bring such joy to my life and I would be forever lost without you."_

_Ianto responded to this statement by standing up and taking hold of Jack's hand. Together they walked into the bedroom._

"Make the most of you happiness, it won't last for long. Just like he did with me, my brother will soon forget about you. Soon you will just be a distant memory to him."

Ianto looked up at Gray, saddened by the statement. He gave himself a mental shake; he must not allow Gray to get to him. Jack would never give up because his heart wouldn't let him and neither would Gwen or Martha.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Jack looked at the Doctor and shook his head. He looked imploringly at Gwen and Martha. The both nodded slightly. Giving his hand a squeeze, Gwen took a deep breath and began to talk. Whenever she hesitated, Martha would take over.

_Deciding to check every room of the Hub to make sure that Ianto wasn't lying injured somewhere, the three of them went on a search. An hour later they all concluded that Ianto and therefore Gray were not in the building. The only ways out of the building where through the main entrance and via the lift and they knew that those hadn't been used._

_Making their way to the briefing room, they sat down around the table. At a loss, Gwen looked towards Jack, his leadership had always lead them in the right direction before however this time he looked just as lost as she felt. The three of them sat there silently, all lost in their own thoughts._ _ Finally Martha spoke._

"_We need to get the computers back on- line. Without them, we are blind. We need to find out what caused them to malfunction in the first place."_

"_How? None of us really know what to do to get them working."_

"_No but U.N.I.T. have a whole computer department. I'll make a few phone calls and see if I can get someone sent over to help us."_

_Getting up, she quietly made her way back to her desk. Gwen watched her until she turned the corner and then turned back to Jack. He'd been too quiet. She was still concerned about him. He still looked pale. Reaching over she took his hand. He didn't move, it was as if he'd switched himself off. Gently she called his name as she squeezed his hand but she didn't get any response. Trying again, although this time she raised his voice. Still nothing. She had to get through to him. She needed him to start looking forward, trying to figure out what needed to be done. Not to remain stuck in the past._

"_DAMN IT JACK!" she shouted, standing up and leaning in towards him. She stood nose to nose, or more accurately, nose to forehead with him. "Are you just going to sit there and lose Ianto? Or are you going to find him and return him to us?"_

_This seemed to work, Jack's mouth started to move although not a sound escaped._

"_Come on Jack, are you prepared to let Gray take your lover from you? I thought Ianto meant more to you than that."_

_That got a response. He looked directly at her but the pain in his eyes almost made her stop but she needed Jack to be angry._

"_Obviously I was wrong. You don't care. You've locked your heart away for so long that nothing can get through to it. Well Captain Harkness, I'm not going to give up. I'm going to do all I can to find Ianto."_

_Jack stood up quickly. The pain was still there but the anger was stronger. Gwen stepped back and braced herself for the onslaught that she could see coming._

"_HOW DARE YOU!! You know how much I care about all of you. What it did to me to lose Owen and Toshiko. I won't lose Ianto, I can't lose him. I love him."_

"_Welcome back." She said softly._

_Jack looked down at her and saw her tears. Smiling slightly he gave her a hug. Turning, they walked out of the briefing room and headed off to find Martha. Neither of them let the other go as they made their way through the corridors. Martha was just hanging up her phone as they reached her desk. Standing up, she gave Jack a quick hug. As she stepped back she gently placed her palm against his cheek._

"_We'll find him Jack. We'll bring him home." _

"_Yes we will. What did you work out?"_

"_Well I spoke to Major Daniels and explained what we needed. He said that he had just the man."_

"_When can we expect him?"_

"_In two days."_

"_TWO DAYS!! That's not fast enough. We need someone working on the computers now. Why can't we get someone sooner?"_

"_Because they are all busy elsewhere and Daniels is already pulling Quinn off an existing assignment but he's in Australia. By the time he gets a flight out it'll be Wednesday afternoon before he gets here."_

"_Do you know this Quinn guy?"_

"_Not really. I've only heard of him. He started with U.N.I.T. six months ago but from everything I've heard, he's the best that they've got." _

"_That's all well and good but I don't want to have to wait for two days. I need to do something now." _

_Gwen thought carefully before she spoke, finally deciding that it was their only option._

"_What about Captain John? We could try to reach him if he's still on Earth."_

_Jack looked at her. Why hadn't he thought of that? Quickly he flipped open his manipulator. After pushing several buttons, he handed the device to Gwen, explaining what he needed her to do. He then moved away and turned to face her. With a nod from Gwen he proceeded to speak._

"_John, I need your help. Gray has escaped. Contact me as soon as you get this message."_

_When he'd finished talking he took the device and pushed the transmit button. Now all they could do was wait. Something Jack was not very good at doing._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

_Jack had just spent the last 40 hours in his office, pacing back and forth, watching the clock, kicking things that got in his way and occasionally having a nap on his couch. Surely John would have contacted him by now if he was still on Earth. It looked like they would have to wait until this Quinn fellow arrived this afternoon._

_He had loved his brother for so long but if he had harmed Ianto, even the tiniest bit, he would kill him. He made this promise to himself. He had lost too many people over the years and it wasn't Ianto's time. Not yet. He left his office and wandered around the main room. He saw Martha lying on the couch and went to cover her with a blanket. She had obviously stayed here all night just as Gwen had. Come to think of it, he couldn't see Gwen. However he did find her note, she had gone to get some food._

_Jack decided to let Martha sleep. He knew that she'd had little sleep and she was probably going to need it. Feeling like a coffee, he made his way over to the machine and turned it on. It started to hiss and he felt oddly comforted. It reminded him of Ianto, standing there, making coffee for everyone. He really did make a great coffee. When the coffee was ready, he glanced up to see that Martha was stirring; she was sitting up stretching her arms above her head. He picked up an extra cup and poured a coffee for her. Once he had given her the cup he walked back up into his office._

_Only 30 minutes later Gwen came through the front door, with its lights and sirens going off to announce her arrival. Although she wasn't alone, Rhys was with her as was another man. This obviously was the U.N.I.T. man. He watched as introductions were made. He saw Martha pointing to his office. Gwen nodded and proceeded to head up to where he was. Everyone else followed. When they had reached his office, Martha made the introductions._

"_Jack, this is Quinn."_

"_Thank you for coming Mr Quinn."_

"_It's Quinn Jackson actually, but you can just call me Quinn. Now, I hear you that you want this problem sorted out quickly. Can someone show me to the computer server?"_

_At Jack's nod, Gwen led Quinn down to the server room. Before she left, she gave Rhys a kiss and told him that she wouldn't be long. Jack envied them a little. At one time he had thought that he might have been able to settle down with Gwen. However he now knew that it would never have worked. Rhys stood up and placed a plate of food on the desk in front of Jack. As Jack started to push the plate away both Rhys and Martha told him to eat something. Picking up the plate, Jack started to eat, not really tasting what he put in his mouth. As he ate, he listened to the conversation that Rhys and Martha were having. Naturally it was about her wedding. After what seemed like 10 minutes Gwen was back. Walking over to Rhys she ate the piece of Danish that he was holding in his hand. _

_Jack looked around and thought that this could be any other day, any other place, a group of friends sitting down discussing a wedding. Except it wasn't any other day or any other place. Ianto was missing and he loved weddings. _

_It had become commonplace to see Rhys in the Hub these days. He often dropped Gwen off and then would stay for a coffee. At first Jack had been concerned about everything Rhys was seeing but he seemed to be handling it well. This was the reason that he had allowed Martha to fill Tom in on what they actually did at Torchwood. He knew that she had felt uncomfortable lying to Tom about her work. He'd been a tremendous help to her during 'the year that never happened'. She didn't like lying to him about that and she had told Jack that she would not lie to him about her job. He had relented based solely on the way Rhys had reacted and because Martha told him that Tom would be able to handle it._

_The conversation was interrupted several hours later by Quinn who had come bounding up the stairs. He informed them that he had gotten the computers working and he'd found a code embedded into one of the computers routine programs. When they reached the main floor they gathered around one of the computers. Quinn announced that once he finally got the computers back online, finding the embedded coding had been easy. He started typing on the keyboard, when he stopped typing he pointed to the screen._

"_This line of code shouldn't be here. The program is a general information gathering file. Basically, when you go in and do a background check, it triggered the security bug."_

"_Hang on; Gray's been in cryo for the last three months. Why didn't this happen sooner?"_

"_That's where this code comes in to it." Quinn pointed to another couple of lines further down the screen. "This code is a time lock. It was activated due to the fact that a command code hadn't been entered by a specific date. This Gray bloke obviously had access to the network and was able to place this program into the system in case he was caught."_

"_It's Suzie all over again." Gwen whispered._

"_Thanks Quinn. You're a magician." Martha smiled at him and offered to take him to the local hotel so he could get some sleep. Nodding his thanks, he turned towards Jack._

"_Sorry I couldn't give you any more information on where your friend is."_

"_That's fine. At least now we know how he got out."_

_It was another 36 hours, where all Jack could do was pace, before anything further happened. He was dozing when the beeping of his manipulator woke him._

"_Gwen! Martha! Come here, quick!"_

_They came from different directions but arrived in Jack's office at the same time. When they had both arrived, Jack opened the device and pressed a button. Suddenly a blue hologram of Captain John Hart appeared in the office._

"_I just got your message. You can explain everything to me later. I'm going to go look for eye-candy straight away. I'll go to the places that I met Gray at, hopefully that might turn something up. I'll contact you when I get back."_

_God, he hated having to wait. If only the Doctor hadn't fussed with his manipulator. He could be out there looking for Ianto himself instead of relying on others._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

"And that was two days ago," continued Martha, "We haven't heard from him since. I thought that maybe the TARDIS could track Gray's, I don't know, his essence."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at her and she stuck out her tongue. After all this time and he still made her feel like a naïve school girl. Although this time she thought that he knew what she meant.

"Well, I'm parked outside, refueling. Let's go out and see what she has to say. Martha bring along a rift reader so we can plug it in."

Martha to Gwen that she was in for a real treat. The TARDIS was like nothing she had ever seen before. When Gwen asked why, Martha just smiled and told her to wait. With a conspiratorial wink at Jack she followed the Doctor out of the Hub. When they got outside Gwen looked around, trying to find whatever this Doctor person traveled in. She didn't really see anything but then again she didn't really know what she was looking for anyway. The only thing that was out of place was an old blue box that was sitting in front of the water feature, near to their temporal lift. However this was the direction that they seemed to be heading. As they walked across the square, she listened to Martha and the Doctor talking.

"Where's Donna? I thought she'd be with you?"

"Nah, when she found out we were coming back to Earth and more importantly, when, she decided to catch up with her family. I dropped her off before I came here. I told her I'd pick her up when all was done here."

When they reached the TARDIS, the Doctor turned to Gwen.

"Right, Gwen is it? Would you like to go first?"

"In there? It's not big enough for all of us." She replied looking at the TARDIS skeptically.

"Gwen, its fine. Trust me, we'll fit."

"Um Jack, no we won't. Look at it; it's a small blue box. Any more than two people and it would be crowded."

"Gwen, just go inside." He turned her around and gently propelled her through the now open door. Smiling when he heard her gasp, "pretty cool huh?"

How, was all she could say? Stunned, she allowed Jack to push her up the ramp. All she could do was stare. It was HUGE in here. She asked Jack what this place was.

"It's called the TARDIS and it belongs to the Doctor."

"Does that mean?"

"I'm an alien? Yes I am."

With that he turned and walked up the ramp to the control console. Gwen looked to Jack for answers and saw him look over at Martha. Silently she waited for them to give her the answers she wanted. Jack spoke first.

"The Doctor is a Time Lord from Gallifrey. He's been visiting Earth for centuries, protecting the human race from all sorts of danger."

"What the hell is a Time Lord?"

"It means that he can travel through time as well as go through space. He is the last of his race. They all died, well nearly all of them, fighting a war against one of the greatest villains this universe has ever seen. He can and does travel alone but more often than not he has a traveling companion."

"Like you? You traveled with him, didn't you?"

"Yeah I did. A few years ago now. He picked me up during the London Blitz. He and Rose……………"

Jack just let the sentence hang. Gwen saw the Doctor look over at Jack, anguish on his face. Martha walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder before he turned back to the controls and continued working.

"And before I joined U.N.I.T., I traveled with the Doctor for a year. It was amazing, utterly amazing but also terrifying at times. I have never once regretted going with him."

Just then Jack's wristband started to beep. Jack positioned himself facing an open space and flipped open the cover, after pressing a button, John's image appeared.

"I'm back, where the hell are you? I'm at your nifty elevator. I've got some information for you. Hurry will you, I don't want to stand here all day."

Jack was out the door as soon as John's message ended. When he stepped outside he turned to his right and sure enough John was standing there. No wonder people were staring, John was wearing his full uniform, guns and swords on his belt for the whole world to see. Jack walked over to him and grabbed his arm. He pulled him in the direction of the TARDIS. Once there, he pushed him inside backwards.

"Well this is fun," he said "but you don't really need to push. Just ask and I'll happily go with you."

"Shut up!"

John sighed and turned to walk away from Jack, which was when he saw the inside of the TARDIS for the first time. In all his travels, he'd never seen a ship like this. He thought of all things he could do with this ship.

"Don't even think it. What have you got for me?"

"Well, I went to all the places where I'd had meetings with Gray and I asked around. No-one seemed to know anything or so they told me. I didn't think I'd be able to find out anything, that is until I arrived on Varsafray. I bumped into an old acquaintance. Needless to say he was happy to see me, very happy and he gave me quite a welcome."

At this, he paused and a smile came across his face and it wasn't until Gwen poked him, rather roughly, in the ribs that he continued.

"Anyway, when I asked Ricardo about Gray he told me that he'd been there two day earlier. He hadn't stayed for long and when he left he seemed to disappear in a glowing blue light."

"Do you know the co-ordinates?"

John looked over at the handsome man in the blue suit who was standing at the console. He sauntered over to him.

"Why hello, you want my co-ordinates do you? Do you want my inside let measurement as well? I'll even let you measure it if you want."

"Give me strength. Jack, he's worse than you."

With that comment he rolled his eyes and told John to give him the co-ordinates which the Doctor put into the console of the TARDIS.

"OK everyone. Hold on, we're off to Varsafray."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Gray looked worried, he was pacing, mumbling to himself and running his fingers through his hair. Ianto could hear only a couple of his words. He needed to hear more so he could try to figure out what had happened to cause this sort of reaction. Slowly he slid along the wall, getting closer to where Gray had stopped. Finally he could hear everything that Gray was saying.

"I'm sure he didn't recognize me. I wasn't there long enough. We're not even on the same planet. Nah, he won't find me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Ianto couldn't resist saying.

Gray rounded on Ianto and punched him squarely in the jaw. It connected with enough force that Ianto's head was thrown back so hard that he thought his neck would break. Still this didn't stop Ianto taunting Gray. He figured the more off balance Gray was the more likely it was that he would make a mistake. A mistake that would help Jack find them.

"Jack will find you. He won't give up. Never."

"Why not?" Gray shouted. "He forgot about me didn't he?"

"No he didn't. He carried you with him wherever he went. He never stopped looking for you until it became impossible for him to continue."

"And how the hell would you know that?"

"Because Jack told me himself. After the havoc you caused last time, he told me everything."

"About how it was his fault that I was taken."

"Yes, everything."

This seemed to stop Gray in his tracks. He hadn't expected that. Score another one for the good guys Ianto thought to himself.

"Why would he tell you these things? You are obviously more than just an employee to my brother."

"No, he told both Gwen and I. We are a team and we rely on each other. We deserved to be told the truth about why you did what you did and why two of our friends had to die in the process."

Gray stared at him, trying to determine if he was telling the truth. Ianto stared back, trying not to blink. He knew that if Gray didn't believe him he'd just handed him some deadly ammunition. They stared at each other for what seemed like hours. Finally Gray turned away and Ianto let out the breath that he wasn't even aware that he was holding.

Gray put some bread on a plate with something that looked like cheese and put it down next to Ianto. Gray untied the rope so Ianto could eat and he stood back and pointed his gun at him warning him not to do anything stupid. Nodding, Ianto picked up the plate and broke off a piece of bread. Putting it in his mouth he savored the taste of it, he quickly added a piece of the cheese as well. While he ate the food he looked at Gray, trying to find similarities between the two brothers. Apart from the color of their hair and the similar look of their eyes, there really didn't look alike. Although that could be because Jack had a vivacious spirit that shone through his eyes whereas Gray's were filled with hatred and anger. He missed looking into Jack's eyes. He yearned to hear his voice.

When he'd finished eating, Gray walked him just outside the cave entry so that he could go to the toilet. Ianto took a deep breath of the clean fresh air. He enjoyed these rare moments outside. Lifting up his face to the sunshine, Ianto closed his eyes and took another deep breath.

"Alright, back inside."

"Five minutes please." Ianto hated to beg but he'd been in that cave for two days. "No-one's around. Please, just a walk around the edge of the trees. I won't try anything."

Gray looked at Ianto thoughtfully, considering his request. Looking around, he saw that they were indeed the only ones here which is of course the reason he picked this planet. It had been uninhabited for a couple of centuries since the war and it had only been habitable for the last 20 years. Deciding that they would not be bothered, Gray pointed in the direction of the forest. Ianto took the lead with Gray walking closely behind him, pointing the gun at his back. Ianto knew that he had to get to know Gray and let Gray get to know him.

Slowly, Ianto started talking. Initially, he just talked about general things, the weather and the forest. At first Gray didn't talk at all but Ianto kept trying. Eventually Gray started talking to him. Ianto didn't rush him, he kept the conversation light. Ianto realized that Gray was as starved for human conversation as he was. He even got him to laugh a couple of times although he was careful not to mention Jack. Ianto looked around and realized that the day had gotten a little bit darker. The two men had been walking for more than the original 5 minutes that he'd asked for.

When they re-entered the cave, Gray gave Ianto some more bread and cheese as well as some fresh water. While they were eating Ianto steered the conversation to Gray's past. He asked him what it was like growing up in the Boeshane Peninsula. Gray was quiet for such a long time that Ianto thought he'd made a mistake. Finally Gray started talking. He spoke of his parents the home that they shared. He spoke fondly of his childhood friends and the fun that they had running on the miles of sand and swimming in the cool waters of the ocean. Finally he talked about his brother and it was like he was a young boy again. He spoke with awe at what his big brother could do. His voice was filled with love up until he spoke of the day he was taken. His voice grew hard as he described what he'd been forced to watch and do while he'd been held captive. Ianto felt nauseous and didn't think he'd be able to keep his meager dinner down.

Gray stopped talking and looked at Ianto, the smiling man from earlier was gone. Ianto realized that he shouldn't have taken Gray down this particular memory lane.

"Enough, no more talking, it's time to sleep." Gray walked over to Ianto and tied his hands together again.

Ianto tried on last time to reach him.

"He loves you, he always has and he always will."

"I SAID ENOUGH!!" Gray shouted.

With that he punched Ianto again. However, this time Ianto fell back and hit his head. The last thing he remembered was the searing pain and then nothing but darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

When they landed on Varsafray, the Doctor turned off all the controls, grabbed his coat and led the others out of the TARDIS. Looking around, Jack asked John what was the way to Ricardo's house. John pointed east, towards what looked like a village. He took the lead. As they walked through the market square Jack noticed a lot of the people wouldn't look at them, in fact they were actively turning away from them. Something or someone had scared the villagers.

As soon as they reached Ricardo's, John turned to them and told them to wait in the park area across the road as Ricardo would not talk in front of them. Gwen rolled her eyes and asked him why he couldn't have said something earlier. John just shrugged and the Doctor laughed and said that he would be happy to rest a while under a lovely shady tree and catch up with Martha and Jack. He grabbed Martha's hand and almost dragged her across the road talking to her at a mile a minute. Jack smiled and shook his head as he followed behind the pair. Gwen however seemed to be unsure about John's reason for wanting to meet this man alone. She stood her ground, staring at John.

"Vera, I'm telling the truth. These people are not trusting of strangers. If you're here he won't talk. Hell, he might not even open the door."

"If you're screwing with us, I will kill you!!"

"I'm not but I need to do this alone. Go, I will bring Ricardo over when he's ready."

Gwen still wasn't sure but she eventually relented and walked over to where they others were sitting. Although she didn't want to interrupt them. The discussion they were having looked intense. She had seen Jack and Martha having this sort of conversation at the Hub many times over the last few months. Something had happened to them during the time that Jack had been missing. There was a very strong bond between them and it seemed that this Doctor person shared that bond.

Shrugging, Gwen reached the big tree a few metres from where the trio sat and turned to watch John. She saw him knock on the door and wait for it to be answered. When the door opened, a young man stuck his head out and looked around before ushering John inside and shutting the door. Gwen sat down and leaned back against the tree. Taking a breath she allowed herself to think of where she actually was. She was on another planet. It just blew her mind. Of course she knew that there was life in outer space but to be on another planet was amazing. It was only then that she realized that she hadn't spoken to Rhys before they had left. He had no idea that she was gone.

Standing up, she made her way over to the others. When she reached them she asked Martha if she'd spoken to Tom before they left. When Martha replied that she hadn't but should have, Gwen informed her that neither had she. Hearing them, the Doctor tossed a mobile phone to Gwen and told her to ring him now. Gwen looked skeptically at him and told him that seeing as they were on another planet that it was not likely to work. Martha laughed and told her to just dial. As she dialed, she looked over at Jack who smiled and nodded. Gwen humored them but when the phone started ringing she raised her eyebrows. Getting Rhys' voicemail she left a message telling him that they had got a lead and they were following it up and she would most likely be away for a couple of days. She didn't tell him where she was, she'd save that conversation for when she got home. When she finished she handed the phone to Martha who called Tom and left a similar message for him. Seeing Gwen's confusion over the phone, Martha explained that the Doctor had tweaked it a little bit.

While they were talking, Jack's glance kept darting over to the door of Ricardo's house. He didn't want to miss seeing John come out as soon as he did. Suddenly he stood up and started to walk over to the edge of the park. Martha glanced after him and saw John coming from the house. He'd certainly been in there long enough. When John reached them Jack was the first to ask the question that they all wanted to ask.

"Did he agree to help us?"

"Yes he will but he won't do it till night fall. He doesn't want to be seen with us."

"So what do we do till then?"

"Ricardo says we can wait inside his place but we have to go around the back and enter through the forest. As I said, he doesn't want to be seen with us. Come on it's this way."

John led them around the houses and into the forest behind them and then made his way back to Ricardo's house. Ricardo was waiting for them at the back gate and let them in. He directed them into the house and urged them to be quick. When they were inside he shut the door quickly and promptly locked it. He then led them into the small dining room where he had laid out some food and drink for them. After urging them to sit down he quickly left the room again. They had to fill in a couple of hours before the sun set and Ricardo felt it was safe to go.

When it finally got dark outside Ricardo came in to get them and they left his house by the same routed that they had arrived. They made their way towards the markets and slowly walked through the now empty market square making sure to stay in the shadows. As they left the market square, Ricardo turned to his left and continued through the open field. He stopped half way across the field and called to John. He pointed down to a spot on the grass and told him that this is where Gray was standing when the blue light appeared and Gray had stepped into it and disappeared.

After this statement he told John that he could help him no further and that it would probably be best if he never returned to this planet. John nodded his head and then leant in and kissed Ricardo goodbye. When they parted, both men had tears in their eyes. Obviously they did mean a great deal to each other. Turning away from John, he quickly walked away from them, into the darkness.

The Doctor stood on the spot that Ricardo had pointed to and gave a shiver. Oh yeah, something had happened on this spot. He could feel it all through his body. Kneeling down he ran his hand over the spot and realized that time was running out. He felt the ripple of a time displacement but it was dissipating. He needed to get the TARDIS here so he could get some readings. With those readings he may be able to track the signal through the vortex.

"Come on, back to the TARDIS and quick. The sooner we get a reading the better. It's already starting to disappear."

With that they all jogged back to the TARDIS and the Doctor moved her to the spot next to the tree in the middle of the field. After taking some readings and deciphering what it meant he looked up smiling.

"Hold on to something, we've got a signal and we can track where he went. Let's go."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

Gray walked over to where Ianto lay prone on the ground and rolled him over. There was blood all over the ground under his head and his face was covered with blood and dirt. There was a huge gash on his head and his face was pale under all the blood. Gray hadn't intended for it to end this way. He had actually like this man. It was a shame that he was a friend of his brother.

He had wanted revenge against his brother and in the end he had gotten it. He figured that eventually his brother would find this place so he would leave Ianto at his materialization site. Then that would be the first thing he'd see and he'd know that it was because of him that he'd lost another valued employee. As he had grown to like Ianto, he made a make-shift stretcher to move him. He deserved better than being dragged over the rough stones on his bare back. When he finished the stretcher, he placed Ianto on it and headed out. When he reached the spot he gently placed him on the ground. After leaning down and giving him a kiss goodbye on the cheek he threw the make-shift stretcher into the forest behind them.

Walking past Ianto's body, he opened his manipulator and pressed a few buttons, stepped into the blue light and disappeared.

The Doctor pointed to the screen, showing Jack the signal that they were tracking. It showed up as a faint line that traversed the universe. Jack just hoped that they weren't too late. He felt hopeful for the first time in days. With any luck they'd be on the planet soon. The Doctor was doing everything he could; he kept recalibrating the computer so he could keep the faint signal viable. If they lost that they would have nothing to follow. It was now down to him but he knew he could do it. Finally the signal led to a planet. Checking the co-ordinates the Doctor frowned. He knew this planet; he'd been here, oh so long ago now. It was called Telenbrooke. He didn't think it was habitable anymore. Now that he knew where they were heading he would do a surface scan of the planet when they touched down.

When they arrived on the planet, the Doctor ran the scan and located the site of the temporal disturbance. It was a few hundred kilometers to the south of their current position. He informed the others and told them that it would only be a short jump away. He told them that when they reached the site they'd be able to go outside as the air was breathable and the temperature was at a safe degree. They'd be able to start their search for Ianto and Gray straight away. It only took a minute or so to reach their final destination. The Doctor announced that they had arrived and Jack wasted no time in bounding down the ramp and opening the door. When he stepped outside he looked around but he couldn't see anything. He felt his heart drop. He knew he shouldn't feel this way. Gray had been here, recently, so that meant that they were on the right track. As he made his way away from the TARDIS he heard the others exit behind him.

"The displacement is just behind us," the Doctor said. "We just have to walk about 100 metres that way." He finished, pointing to a spot over his shoulder, behind the TARDIS.

As he turned to walk behind the TARDIS, he grabbed Gwen's hand and asked her how she was feeling. Touched by his concern Gwen replied that she was holding up. She still couldn't quite believe it. Two alien planets in one day. As she was talking, Gwen looked over at the trees, taking in the scenery. That was when she saw the body. Without explanation she started to run over to it. Seeing her running, everyone wondered where she was going.

"Gwen!!" Martha shouted and then looked at John. "Where's she going?"

"Over there." replied John, "there's a body beneath that tree."

"Let's go!" Shouted Jack, already running after Gwen.

The rest of the group followed him. They were all hoping it wasn't Ianto. Gwen reached the tree first and just came to a sudden stop. Slowly she knelt down next to the body. As Jack arrived, he couldn't see the person's face but he heard Gwen whisper Ianto's name.

"No!" He cried as he knelt next to Gwen who moved so that Jack was kneeling at Ianto's shoulder. Looking at his blood covered face, Jack could feel nothing. Gwen looked over at him and saw the tears trailing down his cheeks. Picking up Ianto's hand in one of hers, she wiped her own tears with her other hand. Just then Jack heard her gasp but he couldn't take his eyes off Ianto. The next thing he felt was her hand on his shoulder.

"Jack," she whispered, "he's alive. I can feel his pulse. It's weak but it's there."

Standing up, she called back to Martha.

"He's alive, get your bag!"

Martha turned and ran back to the TARDIS. By the time she had returned, Gwen was standing between John and the Doctor. Jack was still kneeling beside Ianto, quietly talking to him. Martha kneeled on his other side and began her examination. Lifting his eyelids, she checked his pupil responses and found them sluggish. This worried her; he obviously had some damage done to his brain. She next did a physical assessment of him. She felt around his head and determined that apart from the gash on the side of his head, which explained all the blood, he had no other injury. This was also the case for the rest of his body. No signs of any other injury. However when she pressed down on his stomach, he groaned loudly and flinched. This wasn't good; she looked up at the Doctor she saw that he understood what needed to be done. He whispered something to John and then they ran back to the TARDIS.

Gwen resumed her spot next to Jack while Martha explained that the blood was from Ianto's head wound which had now stopped bleeding. She then told them that they had to get back to Earth quickly as Ianto was still in bad shape. While she had been monitoring his vitals, John and the Doctor arrived with a stretcher. It still amazed Martha what could be found on the TARDIS. Gently they place Ianto on the stretcher and they carried him back across the field. When they arrived, the Doctor led them to a room not far from the control room. When he left the room, John and Gwen left with him. Martha remained to keep a medical eye on Ianto. Jack refused to leave Ianto's side and Martha wasn't about to make him go. She wanted to be able to keep an eye on him as well.

Jack sat beside Ianto and continued to talk to him. Telling him that he was sorry that this had happened, that it was all his fault and if he could take his place he would. Ianto didn't respond at all. That didn't make Jack stop, he just kept on talking. Telling him that he loved him and he would never leave him.

Martha was just hoping that the Doctor didn't get lost this time as he tended to have a habit of miscalculating his co-ordinates and ending up nowhere near where he had originally intended to be.

However, this time he was spot on. He actually landed the TARDIS inside the Hub.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

When the dematerialization was finished they all helped to take Ianto to the autopsy room. When he was on the table, Martha was able to do a complete scan of his body. Closely examining the images she breathed a sigh of relief that her initial assessment of his head injury was accurate. The scan showed no further brain damage. Slowly the scan continued down his body. When his spleen appeared on the screen she froze the image for a closer look. She really didn't want to open him up if she didn't have to. Thankfully she found no tears in his spleen. It had obviously been badly bruised and that had been what had caused the pain when she had done the check back on the planet. Turning off the machine, she then tended to his head wound. First cleaning it, she then tenderly stitched the gash and covered it with a bandage. Hooking him up to an IV drip, she placed the needle into the back of his hand and taped it down. Grabbing a blanket, she covered him and made her way up the stairs to the others.

When she reached the landing, she led the others out of the room. All of them were looking anxiously at her. Jack's eyes were full of tears. Gwen's were full of fear, John's were concerned and the Doctor's held compassion as they always did. Holding up her hand to stop any questions she turned to Jack.

"Physically he's fine. Apart from the head wound, which is minor by the way and a bruised spleen, he has no other injuries."

"But all that blood." Jack asked desperately.

"Relax, it's from the head wound, they always bleed."

"When will he wake up?" John asked.

"Well that's the thing. I don't know. He's received a blow to the head obviously so the body has shut itself down to let him heal. We just have to wait. For now he can stay in the autopsy room but I really would like to set up a bed somewhere else."

"We can set something up in the conference room." Gwen replied. She grabbed John and the Doctor and pulled them behind her as she made her way up the stairs.

Jack turned and headed down to sit next to Ianto. Martha watched him go and then turned to help the others. When she arrived in the conference room she had to laugh a little to herself. Gwen was giving the orders and the guys were quickly obeying. Slowly they moved the huge table over to the side of the room. However that was where they stopped. Even though they had a nice big empty space, they didn't have a bed to go in it.

"There's a spare in the TARDIS." The Doctor declared, "come on John, we'll go get it."

As they left the room they both winked at Martha as they passed her. Ten minutes later they returned, half dragging the bed up the stairs. Both Gwen and Martha helped them bring the bed into the room. Sitting on the mattress was the linen. Gwen and Martha made quick work of making up the bed while the guys caught their breaths in preparation for moving Ianto up here. With the bed made, they all walked down to the autopsy room. When Martha touched Jack's shoulder he gave a start. He'd been so focused on Ianto that he hadn't beard the others arrive. Martha told him that they'd set up a bed for Ianto and they'd need his help to move him. Handing Gwen the IV bag, she checked his vitals before they moved him.

Ianto moaned a few times as he was settled into the bed but didn't open his eyes. As soon as Martha said it was ok, Jack sat on the edge of the bed and took hold of his hand again and commenced talking to him. Martha walked out to talk to the others.

"Is there anything we can do?" Gwen asked.

"Yes, go home to Rhys. Have something to eat, get some sleep. If anything changes, I'll ring you straight away."

"What about you? Are you going home to Tom?"

"He's at work and I need to stay here to monitor Ianto. Tom's going to come in when he's finished at the hospital."

"Oh goodie, I finally get to meet him."

Martha looked over at the Doctor and smiled indulgently at his childlike excitement. However, she did tell him to mind his manners. To that comment he just grinned and winked at her. Gwen interrupted them by saying that she was not going anywhere and that Rhys would be coming here when he finished work. When he got there they would go and get dinner.

An hour later Rhys arrived, after being introduced to both John and the Doctor they went up to see Ianto. Sitting with Jack at Ianto's bedside, they spoke quietly about nothing much. Standing up, they told Jack that they would be going to get dinner and that they would bring something up to him when they got back. As they were leaving they bumped into Tom just as he was arriving. Exchanging greetings, Gwen then buzzed Tom in and then they left to get dinner.

When they returned, everyone converged on the work area to eat their burgers and chips. Before Martha started hers she took a plate of food up to Jack and ordered him to eat saying that he'd be no good to Ianto if he let himself get run down. She didn't leave until Jack had taken a bite out of his burger and eaten some chips.

When she rejoined the others she found that the Doctor had cornered Tom and they were having what looked to be an in-depth conversation. Grabbing her plate, she made her way over to them. When she reached them, Tom looked at her and smiled. She had told him all about the Doctor so he was not surprised by anything that he had told him. Turning to the Doctor, she grinned. This was the first time in over a week that they had been able to relax a little bit. They shared some wine and some laughs and they all felt normal.

Several hours later, Martha made her way up to check on Ianto, still thinking about how well Tom and the Doctor were getting on. When she reached the room, she was surprised to see that the lights had been turned down. Slowly and quietly she walked through the door and came to a sudden stop and smiled. Jack had managed to squeeze onto the bed with Ianto and had taken him in his arms. While they slept, Martha quickly took a set of obs from Ianto and was happy with the results. His pulse was stronger and he had more colour. Picking up a blanket she covered Jack and then left the room as quietly as she had entered.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

Jack slowly opened his eyes. He was so warm and comfortable. It only took a few seconds to realize why. He was snuggled up to Ianto in his hospital bed. Just then he heard footsteps. Looking up, he smiled at Martha.

"Good morning Jack. How did you sleep? It couldn't have been very comfortable for you."

"It was the best sleep I've have all week. I've missed him being beside me. Thank you for letting me sleep here with him."

Martha waved her hand dismissively at him. Ianto's vitals had been steadily improving throughout the night. She tended to think that Jack's presence had made all the difference.

"He's improving Jack. His vitals are getting stronger all the time and he's got more colour in his cheeks this morning. That's a very good sign."

Just then Ianto squeezed Jack's hand. Jack wanted to shout but he restrained himself although he was quick to inform Martha. She promptly moved over to the bed and took Ianto's other hand. She asked him to squeeze her hand but Ianto didn't respond. She told Jack to speak to him. He nodded and asked Ianto to squeeze his hand again. Ianto responded immediately and Jack laughed out loud. He had to wipe the tears of joy that were streaming down his cheeks. Martha encouraged him to keep talking as she did some tests. She shone the penlight into his eyes and this made Ianto flinch. Martha smiled; this was a very good sign.

"What's going on?" Gwen asked from the doorway.

"Gwen, he squeezed my hand, he knows I'm here."

"Jack, that's fantastic. It is good news isn't Martha?" Gwen asked.

"Yes it is. He's also light sensitive. It's all good; it means he's getting better."

"Will you all be quiet." croaked a voice from the bed.

Seven pairs of eyes tuned towards the bed. Ianto was looking back at them.

"Hi you." whispered Jack.

"Hi yourself." he replied with a slight smile.

Jack leaned down and kissed his cheek. Just then Gwen leaned over from the other side of the bed and gave him a kiss as well. Looking around the bed he saw his friends as well as Capt John and a man he had never met before but he didn't care because he only had eyes for Jack. Martha hurried everyone out of the room. It took a little longer to get Jack to leave but she wanted to do a complete check and she didn't want or need anyone standing behind her, watching over her shoulder. Finally Jack left but only after he made her promise to be as quick as she could.

While Martha was examining Ianto, Jack went to talk to the others. Now that he knew Ianto was getting better he wanted to track down Gray and deal with him. He wouldn't let him get away with hurting Ianto. He had gone to far now. He'd caused the deaths of both Owen and Toshiko and now he'd kidnapped Ianto.

"Are we going after Gray?" John asked.

"Soon, when I know for sure that Ianto is going to be ok."

"Jack, I won't help you hunt down your brother just so you can kill him."

"He's already killed two of my team as well as the countless humans he killed with those explosions that he made John set and letting the Weevils out to roam the streets."

"Jack, no, I won't help you murder your brother. No matter what he's done."

"We can lock him up here." Gwen suggested.

"You already tried that and it didn't work. Look what happened last time."

"But that was Gray's doing. He'd embedded that program. Quinn's given our computers the all clear now and I'm sure we'll be able to get him to secure our systems again. If we bring Gray in this time he won't be able to do anything, we won't let him."

The Doctor smiled at Gwen, liking this woman. He knew that he needed to calm Jack down otherwise who knew what he would do. He looked over and thankfully saw that Jack was at least thinking about Gwen's suggestion. Turning to the Doctor, Jack asked if the Doctor would help him capture Gray so that he could be returned to the Hub and be locked up in the cells. Nodding, the Doctor agreed to help if that was what Jack truly intended to do. Jack was quiet for a long time, however John was vocal. He was telling him that he had let Gray off before and it had almost cost Ianto his life. Why was he thinking of giving Gray another free pass.

Gwen grabbed his arm and pulled him away. They were followed by Rhys and Tom. The Doctor and Jack stood silently side by side for a long time. Finally the Doctor put his hand on Jack's shoulder and told him that he would wait for him inside the TARDIS. Whenever he was ready, so would he.

When Martha had finished her examination she smiled at Ianto and sat down next to his bed. She started to ask him some simple questions, like his full name, his date of birth, where he was and what year it was. When he had answered these all correct she took a breath and asked him to tell her what had happened. He started from the very beginning, leaving nothing out. He knew that Martha would relay everything to the others. It took a while because his throat was sore and his voice was still a little croaky. As he neared the end of the story, Jack entered the room without either of them hearing him.

"And that's when he hit me again."

Hearing a growl, both Ianto and Martha looked towards the door to see Jack standing there looking grim.

"How many times did my brother hit you?" He asked as he approached the bed.

"Jack, it's ok. He only hit me twice and that was only because I provoked him the first time and I slipped up the second time. Generally speaking, he treated me well. He brought me food and water, kept me sheltered. He treated me well all things considered."

"He kidnapped you Ianto!"

"I know Jack, I was there remember."

This stopped Jack's tirade and he smiled at Ianto who held out his hand. Jack took hold of it and Ianto tugged him towards the bed. Jack sat down.

"I missed you Jack, I love you so much." Ianto whispered.

"Oh, I missed you so much. Never again am I going to let you leave me. I love you."

With that they leant in for a kiss although Jack held back a little until Ianto groaned.

"Jack, I won't break. Ask Martha if you don't trust me."

Jack looked over at Martha who nodded and smiled before leaving the two men. When they were alone, Jack lay down next to Ianto and took him in his arms again. They stayed like that for hours, not really talking, just holding each other. Finally Jack spoke.

"I have to go after him."

"Don't kill him. I couldn't live with that on my conscious. I'm here now and I'm fine."

All Jack could do was look at Ianto. After several long minutes he nodded and Ianto knew that Jack would honor his request.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

Jack walked past John on the way to the TARDIS, he didn't even slow down when Gwen called out to him. When he reached the TARDIS, he took out his keys and opened the door. The Doctor didn't even make a comment about Jack still having his key. He walked around the console when he got inside and stood in front of the Doctor who was sitting on the seat playing with a ball. Neither man spoke for a few minutes; finally Jack broke the silence by telling the Doctor that he wanted to go after Gray and that he would be bringing him back here alive. The Doctor nodded and stood up. He told Jack that they would leave after he had said goodbye to Martha. When he left, he held the door open for John, who entered and walked straight up to Jack.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going after Gray."

"And then what?"

"And then I bring him back here and he will be locked up."

"Jack, he won't thank you. His hatred will just grow with each passing day."

"I promised Ianto. I can't, I won't break that promise."

"He won't come quietly, he will fight you, you know that don't you?"

"Yes, I know."

"I'm coming with you."

"I don't need…………"

"Yes you do. I'll watch your back. Just like the old days. Nothing or no-one will get you from behind."

"Thank you."

"I'm going to say goodbye to Ianto and the others. When the Doctor and I get back we will go."

Jack walked out of the TARDIS and made his way to the temporary hospital room to talk to Ianto. When he got there it seemed that everyone else had had a similar idea. Gwen and Rhys were standing on the left side of the bed while Martha, Tom and the Doctor were on the right side. Martha had just introduced the Doctor to Ianto and told Ianto of everything that the Doctor had done to help.

Ianto held out his hand to shake the Doctor's hand. He thanked him for all that he had done and asked him whether he was the Doctor that Jack had spoken of. Nodding the Doctor said that yes he was probably one in the same. Again, Ianto thanked him to which the Doctor told him it was really no bother what so ever. When he let go of Ianto's hand he turned to Martha and gave her a hug, telling her that he was going to help Jack track down Gray. She told him to be careful then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she went back to stand next to Tom and wrap her arms around his waist. Jack made his way over to the bed.

When he reached the bed, he was standing behind Gwen. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned around and covered his hand with hers and nodded. She tugged on Rhys' hand and they said their goodbyes to Ianto, promising to pop back later. Martha, Tom and the Doctor followed them as well, leaving Jack and Ianto alone in the room. Jack leant down and cupped Ianto's face in his hands. He promised him that he would not hurt Gray, or at least not much, and that he would return to him as soon as he could. He then kissed him, tenderly, passionately. When he finally pulled away both men were breathing heavily and Jack had to sit down and wait for a few minutes before he could leave the room with some dignity.

Heading through the Hub on the way back to the TARDIS, Jacked stopped to speak to the others. He asked Gwen to keep things running here. As for Martha, he asked her to take good care of Ianto and to ask Quinn if he wanted a permanent job here with them. Just before he stepped into the TARDIS, he shook Rhys and Toms' hands and gave Gwen and Martha quick kisses on their cheeks. Turning, he opened the door and joined both John and the Doctor inside.

"Alright, let's go."

The Doctor flipped a lever and the console started up. They were heading back to the planet where they had found Ianto. Gray's displacement field would still be strong enough to get a good reading. From that, the TARDIS could track him like it did the last time. The trip seemed to be quicker this time, probably due to the fact that the last time, they were all worried about Ianto. John spent the entire trip talking to the Doctor, having given up on trying to change Jack's mind. Jack watched the two men. They were so different; John prepared to kill at the first sign of danger and the Doctor always wanting to give people the chance to stop. Despite their differences, they seemed to be getting on well. He supposed this had to do with the Doctor, accepting of John due to his friendship with him and with John finding the Doctor handsome and doing his best to impress him. Jack smiled, knowing it was a hopeless case, there was only one person who could capture the Doctor's hearts and that was Rose Tyler.

When they arrived back on the planet, the Doctor started to scan the area where Ianto had been found. Locking onto the time displacement field, the TARDIS began the calculations that were needed to lead them in the right direction of where Gray had gone. This would, once again, be their only chance. If they couldn't track Gray this way, it would mean that he had escaped them this time. Several minutes later the screen beeped and the Doctor smiled, gently patting the console while praising the TARDIS. He turned to the other men and informed them that the TARDIS had worked out where Gray had gone.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

"Well, nothing really, I just didn't think that the planet was very safe."

"Where did he go Doctor?"

"His final destination is Haradway."

"Oh crap." moaned John.

"What is it John? What do you know about this planet?"

"Haradway is the planet that I found Gray on. Why would he go back to the place that holds so many bad memories for him?"

"Because it's all he's known for most of his life." The Doctor said quietly, "Now Jack, are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"Yes, I can't leave him out there. He'll come back for the others before long."

Nodding, the Doctor flipped the lever again. They were off to capture Jack's brother. The Doctor trusted Jack when he said he wouldn't kill Gray but John on the other hand was a completely different story. He'd need to keep an eye on him. Although from talking to him earlier he knew that whatever John did or didn't do was because he cared deeply for Jack and had grown to like Ianto. He just had to trust that Jack could keep him in line.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Arriving on Haradway the Doctor powered down the TARDIS. He didn't know how long it would take to track down Gray. Grabbing his coat and Jack's, which he handed to him as he walked down the ramp, he put it on over his suit. Stopping at the door, he turned to the two men behind him.

"I want your word, both of you that we are not tracking down Gray just so you can kill him."

"I've already told you, I promised Ianto."

"And John, I want your word."

Frowning, John looked over at Jack. The Doctor could see the internal struggle. He knew that if he had his way, Gray would have been killed months ago. However the Doctor knew that John would honor Jack's decision.

"John." Jack prompted.

"Yes, alright, you have my word. I will not purposely kill Gray. However I will not stand back and allow him to hurt either one of you."

The Doctor looked at him for a while before nodding and turning back to the door. Opening it, he stepped through and out onto the planet. He looked around and shivered. It was a desolate place. Even though there were buildings nearby they looked dark and empty. The wind was blowing sand around his ankles. The sky was grey and it looked like it might rain. Pulling his coat tighter he headed towards the closest building.

When they were half way across the clearing the skies opened and the rain that had been threatening to fall began to pour down on them. The three men bolted for the cover of the buildings. Shaking the raindrops off himself the Doctor turned to John and asked him to take them to the spot where he first found Gray. John nodded and pointed east. He told them that they needed to go that way. Turning, the other two men followed him. None of them spoke; they were just taking in their surroundings.

Even though the buildings were relatively undamaged there was an air of devastation around them. Something horrible had happened here and the evidence of that soon became clear. The smell of death permeated the air and the further they walked the stronger the smell became. Finally John stopped in front of a door. He placed a hand on the door handle and told Jack and the Doctor to prepare themselves. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand and urged the others to do the same. When they had he opened the door and the smell that came from the building almost made Jack lose his lunch. Grabbing the collar of his coat he covered his nose and mouth with the extra layer of protection noting that the Doctor did the same thing.

When their senses had adjusted to the smell they entered the building and instantly Jack saw the chains attached to every wall. Jack walked over to one and lifted the chain up. He cradled the cuff in one hand and traced it with the fingers of his other hand. It was small, too small to fit an adult, even a small adult. He felt the anger and repulsion rise from his stomach. These chains were for a child. This is what Gray had been subjected to. He felt the tears running down his cheeks. His brother had suffered here and for such a long time. Just then John called out, diverting Jack's attention. He slowly made his way over to where John and the Doctor were standing.

"This is where Gray was when I found him. I thought he was just another dead body at first but as I got closer I could hear him breathing. Of course, at first I didn't know who he was. I didn't find that out till much later."

"What did you do?" The Doctor asked quietly.

"Once I realized that he was alive I couldn't just leave him here. Although sometimes, given what has happened, I wonder if it wouldn't have been better if I had just left him. He was so near death when I found him."

"No John, you did the right thing?"

"What happened next?"

"Well, after I untied him I took him to San Capila where I had been based and I, well I nursed him back to health. For months I didn't know if he'd survive. He hardly ate and he never spoke. When I had to go away, I got one of the village girls to sit with him. He was always very agitated whenever I left but he always calmed down when I returned. It seemed as if he was starting to trust me and I was growing to care for him."

"You fell for my brother?"

"I didn't know he was your brother then but yes I'd fallen for him. It was another couple of months before I got him to leave the house. He'd started talking but not much or often. He was having terrible nightmares and had been since I brought him home. Every night his screams would wake me but he refused to talk about them at first. So every time a nightmare woke him I would sit with him and hold him until he fell back to sleep. One night he told me what had been haunting his dreams. They scared me. After he'd spoken of his dreams he seemed able to sleep better."

"When did you find out who he really was?"

"It was nearly a year after I found him that he finally started talking about his childhood, before he was taken. He spoke generally, never mentioning where he'd actually lived and then one day he spoke of the day he was taken."

John stopped talking, lost in his memories. Jack was about to prompt him when the Doctor shook his head. Eventually John continued.

"When he was talking he mentioned his big brother and how when they were kids they had to escape the demons. He said how he and his brother were running across the sand when his hand slipped from his brother's grasp. He had tripped and fell to the ground. However by the time he had regained his footing he couldn't see his brother." he looked over at Jack and saw his pain, "He tried to follow but the creatures had arrived and there was nowhere to go. His story sounded so familiar but as he still hadn't told me his real name I couldn't be sure. It was then that he mentioned the name of his world; The Boeshane Peninsula. It was then that I put two and two together and realized that he was your brother. I asked his name again and surprisingly he told me, I knew for sure then. I remember you telling me once, when we had both been drinking what had happened to your brother. Obviously I didn't hide my shock because he asked me what was wrong. I told him that in fact nothing was wrong, it was great news. I told him that I knew where his brother was. That was a mistake. He changed instantly, no longer was he the man that I had grown to love, he was now an angry, vengeful man. He left me that day and it was six months later that I first found you and another nine months later that Gray returned and placed that damn bomb on me. He truly wasn't the same man anymore."

Jack nodded; he knew the rest of the story and as the Doctor didn't ask any further questions he could only assume that Martha had filled him in. Looking around the room again he saw no signs that Gray had even been here. Just then John's wristband started to beep. As he opened it he looked to the other men. After pressing some buttons Gray's hologram appeared.

"I need you to give my brother a message. Tell him to come home or more of his team will die. Tell him that I will be waiting for him where and when it all began."

Instantly Jack knew where Gray was. It was time to go home. It was time to return to The Boeshane Peninsula.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Ok, here is the final chapter to the story. Hope you have enjoyed reading it. To those who have sent me reviews, thank you. It's nice to know that people enjoy my writing. If you haven't reviewed my story please do so I know what you are thinking. Once again, thank you for reading Missing. XXXOOO

**Chapter Fourteen**

Jack gave the Doctor the co-ordinates and the date of the meeting place and then sat down to contemplate what was going to happen when he and Gray met again. He'd forgiven him the last time but he didn't know if he'd be able to do it this time. When he'd last forgiven him it was before he knew that Gray was responsible for the deaths of Owen and Toshiko. Now he knew better. John came and sat down next to Jack.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I cared about him as much as I do you. I didn't know all this was going to happen and, well, I was angry with you."

"You were angry with me! Jesus John, what sort of excuse is that?"

"No excuse, just stating a fact."

Jack glared at John and they didn't speak again. They were both lost in their own thoughts.

"We're here." The Doctor declared.

"I don't know if I can do this." Jack whispered.

"Jack of course you can. You can face your brother." The Doctor encouraged.

"That, I can do. It's being here again. I never thought I'd see it again. And we're here on the worst day of my life. The day I lost Gray. How can I live through that again?"

"You can, we'll help you." John said from behind him.

"It's time." Said the Doctor walking over to the other two men. He stood in front of Jack, waiting for him to make a decision. He just hoped he would make it soon. They would need to make sure that they weren't captured by the creatures. It was another thirty minutes before Jack stood up and headed to the door. When he reached it, he lent his head on it. The three men could hear the terrified screams from outside. His family and friends were fleeing from the creatures. He could stop it all; he could bring back Tosh and Owen. All he had to do was find the young Gray. He so desperately wanted to do it. Almost as if he could read his mind, the Doctor placed his hand on Jack's shoulder to stop him.

"Jack, you know you can't, that will change more than just your timeline. The ripples of this one action will be felt by millions throughout time. You can't do it."

"I don't care. I can spare Gray all that pain."

"Jack, listen to the Doctor, he's right and you know it."

"I told you, I DON'T CARE!"

"Jack." The Doctor whispered, "Yes you do. You care too much."

Jack looked over at John and realized that they were right. As much as he wanted to do it, he knew that he couldn't.

It was a further thirty minutes before the screams stopped. Slowly Jack opened the door and took a step onto his home world. It had been so long. He took a deep breathe of the salt air. John and the Doctor waited for Jack to be ready, silently standing beside him as he stood with his eyes closed. When he opened them, gone was the melancholy and in its place was a determination to end what had been happening.

"It's this way." he said gruffly as he headed off through the trees towards the sand dunes where, as a kid, he'd last seen Gray. When he stood on the spot, he was almost crippled with guilt but the memories of Owen and Tosh pushed the guilt to the side and then he remembered what Gray had done to Ianto and his guilt was completely buried. Too much had happened to go back now. He had to stop thinking of Gray as that little boy who needed to be saved and remember that he was a cold blooded killer.

"So you couldn't even face me alone."

Jack's head snapped up and there stood Gray.

"They just drove me here. They'll stay back."

"Like trained animals you mean."

"No Gray, like true friends."

"Something else I don't have thanks to you."

"Gray, that's enough. We were both kids. I didn't know what happened to you and I certainly didn't wish it on you. I've asked for forgiveness already but I'm done now. You killed two of my friends."

At Gray's look of surprise, he nodded and continued.

"Yes, Ianto is still alive. Trust me; if you'd killed him nothing would have stopped me from killing you."

"What's stopping you now big brother?"

"He is, I made a promise to him and I plan to keep it. You're coming back with me. It ends here Gray."

"You're right, it does end here but I'm not coming back with you. You'll just have to kill me."

"I'm not going to kill you."

"Then I'll kill you."

Gray pulled out a gun and pointed it at Jack's head. The look in his eyes told Jack that he would do it. He had to stop him because he knew that he'd kill both John and the Doctor. They were both unarmed as the Doctor had refused weapons to be brought on board the TARDIS. Just as he was thinking about their lack of weapons he heard a shot and in those few seconds before death he knew that he'd cost his friends their lives.

Everything was black and then he was traveling through what he called the corridor of broken glass. Every time he came back to life it was like he was walking across broken glass except in his case the glass was everywhere. The pain was almost unbearable.

"Yep, you're right. He's just gonna to lie there."

Jack quickly sat up and looked around. Both John and the Doctor were leaning against a nearby boulder with their arms and ankles crossed. Jack shook his head and searched for Gray. He found him, lying on the ground not ten metres from where he himself was. He had a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead.

"What the hell happened?"

"After he shot you he took aim at the Doctor so I had to stop him."

"Where did you hide your gun?"

"Trust me; you do not want to know."

"Anyway," the Doctor said, "Jack, what do you want to do with Gray's body?"

"I want to bury him next to my father although we can't do it now. My mum is still here, we'll have to wait until she goes."

"When is that?"

"In about twenty years. We can go and come back then."

When John stepped forward to help Jack carry Gray, he waved him off. He lent down and picked up his brother and carried him back to the TARDIS. There, he cradled his brother until the Doctor told him that they were now twenty-five years ahead of where they'd been. Jack carried Gray to the family plot and placed him on the ground as he dug the grave, refusing any help as he did. When the grave was finished he lowered his brother's body into it gently and with tears streaming down his face he finally buried his brother, wishing him peace. Saying good-bye for the last time he turned and made his way back to the TARDIS followed by John and the Doctor.

Once again, the trip home was quiet. Both John and the Doctor let Jack deal with his brother's death. When they arrived at the Hub Jack went straight to Ianto's room, leaving the explanations to John and the Doctor.

When he reached the room he stopped and took his fill of Ianto. He loved him so much that at times it scared him. He knew that eventually he would lose him as he had the others but he craved this time with him. Ianto filled a big hole in his heart. He made him laugh and smile. Just then Ianto looked over at the doorway.

"You're back. Are you OK?"

"Yeah but I'm better now that I've seen you."

"Where's Gray? Is he in the cells?"

"He's dead Ianto. John had to kill him."

"Why?"

"Because he shot me, John had to kill him or he would have killed them both. I buried him next to our dad."

"Oh Jack, come here my love."

Jack walked over and sat on the chair that was next to the bed. He rested his head on Ianto's lap. Ianto stroked his hair and told him that everything would be ok. Jack stood up and kissed him before getting into bed next to him. Within minutes he was fast asleep with Ianto's arms wrapped around him. Ianto kissed the top of his head and smiled fondly before closing his own eyes. They could now both sleep peacefully, in each others arms.


End file.
